seller's market

noun

Definition of seller's market

: a market in which goods are scarce, buyers have a limited range of choice, and prices are high — compare buyer's market

See seller's market defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of seller's market from the Web

With the peak sales season now under way, Wisconsin clearly is a seller's market.

— paul gores, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Lack of houses on the market in Wisconsin pushes up prices, slows down sales," 21 May 2018
Story from Carpenter Realtors: Readiness and resilience key to finding your home in a seller's marketDrive Traffic to It To maximize the benefits of an Open House, the right people have to show up.

— carpenter realtors, Indianapolis Star, "Three ways realtors and sellers can make the most of an open house," 9 Apr. 2018
Those who track the housing data say inventory is low for homes under the half a million dollars, making for a seller's market.

— annie zak, Anchorage Daily News, "Alaska population shrank last year, but Anchorage housing market remains stable," 28 Mar. 2018
Now, in a seller's market, songwriters are routinely seeing multiples of 10-12 times NPS and, in some cases, a multiple of up to 16 for their copyrights.

— billboard staff, Billboard, "Kendrick Lamar Eyeing New Publishing Deal: Sources," 16 Jan. 2018
The remaining top seller's markets are the metro areas of Sacramento, Austin, Raleigh, N.C., Tucson and Denver.

— paul davidson, USA TODAY, "Real estate market exclusive: Here are top cities to buy and sell homes," 12 Dec. 2017
Now, in a seller's market, songwriters are routinely seeing multiples of 10 to 12 times NPS and, in some cases, a multiple of up to 16 for their copyrights.

— melinda newman, Billboard, "The Songwriter Catalog Market Is Booming, With Indies Leading the Way," 2 Nov. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'seller's market.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of seller's market

1932

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Financial Definition of SELLER'S MARKET

seller's market

noun

What It Is

A seller's market exists when there are more sellers than buyers in the market for a certain good or service.

How It Works

Housing is a common place to find a seller's market. Let's say that ABC Town has 100,000 homes and that 3,000 of those homes are for sale. A big manufacturing plant in ABC Town is opening, drawing thousands of people to the town for new jobs. These people want to buy houses and move to ABC town, so they start competing for the 3,000 houses for sale.

Very few people are moving out of ABC Town right now. Accordingly, the few people who are interested in selling a home in ABC Town have the upper hand. There are more buyers than sellers, making ABC Town a seller's market.

Why It Matters

In a seller's market, a seller often can sell goods and services at a higher cost. In our example, a seller's market means that a lot of buyers are competing for houses, and they are therefore more likely to pay more money for their homes. This can translate into big profits for sellers, who might also be able to dictate other terms of the deal (such as who pays the closing costs).

Source: Investing Answers